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Thursday, January 8, 2015

Setup and Use Canned Responses in Gmail

There are many times we all find ourselves typing the same email over and over again. I send out a many requests for Tech Session Evaluations after meeting with staff each day. In the past I had the email message (always the same) saved in a Google Document that I would copy and paste into an email and then send it out. That involved me finding the document, opening it up, copying the text, closing the document, and finally pasting the text into the body of the email. There is a much easier way to do this. Google calls it “Canned Response”, and it is AWESOME! Follow the steps below and make repeated emails easy!

Setup and Use Canned Response in Gmail

Enable Canned Response in Gmail:

Log into Gmail.

Click the Settings gear and click “Settings”.

Go to the “Labs” tab. Make sure “Enable” is selected for Canned Responses.

Click “Save Changes”.

Save a Message as a Canned Response in Gmail:

Enable "Canned Responses". (See above.)

Compose the message in an email that you want to be “canned”. (delete your signature if you have it automatically added)

Click the “More” options downward-pointing triangle (▾) in the toolbar at the message's bottom.

Select “Canned responses” then “New canned response”.

Type the desired name for your template.

Click “OK”.

You now have a saved Canned Response to use later.

Create a New Message or Reply Using a Canned Response:

Make sure "Canned Responses" is enabled and the canned reply is created. (See above.)

Start a new message or reply.

Click the More options triangle (▾) in the message's formatting toolbar (to the composition area's bottom).

Point to Canned responses in the menu that shows and select the Canned Response you want to use under Insert.